#@ nhl you're kinda in the doghouse w/ all this shit about the olympics right now

[itsjustascarecrow]

so. today marks a pretty special occasion for me. today officially marks the 5-year anniversary of the first LA Kings/hockey game i’ve ever been to. on Thursday, April 4th, 2013, my dad and i went to the Kings v. Wild game and saw Justin Williams score one minute and twenty nine seconds into the first period for what would eventually be the game-winning goal, as former Kings backup goaltender Jonathan Bernier posted a shutout.

so i’m making a post to sort of commemorate this achievement(? i guess you can call it that)--5 awesome years of being a hockey fan, and all the amazing games and events and players i’ve seen in these past 5 years.

first i’ll start w/ some totals (that do not include the game i’m going to tonight):

Games:

NHL: LAK (46); SJS (9); COL (5); STL (4); CBJ DAL (3); ANA ARI BOS CHI EDM MIN PIT (2); CAR CGY FLA NSH NYR PHI TBL TOR WSH WPG (1)

2012-13: 6 total (2 regular season, 4 playoff) 2013-14: 9 total (6 regular, 3 playoff) 2014-15: 8 total (all regular) 2015-16: 12 total (1 preseason, 10 regular, 1 playoff) 2016-17: 12 total (2 preseason, 10 regular)*’**

*2017 NHL All-Star Game (not included in total) **includes a non-LAK game (CBJ @ ANA)

AHL: ONT (6); BAK (2); CLE IWA SAR SDG (1)

2015-16: 4 total (2 regular, 2 playoff) 2016-17: 2 total (all regular)

NWHL: BOS NYR (1)

2016-17: 1 (regular)

Goals Scored:

NHL: -Kings: total - 127 by season:  2012-13: 18  2013-14: 28 2014-15: 24 2015-16: 30 2016-17: 27

-Opponent: total - 109 by season: 2012-13: 10 2013-14: 26 2014-15: 16 2015-16: 26 2016-17: 31

**CBJ @ ANA: 4-0 CBJ final score (not included in any above totals)

AHL: -Reign: total - 13 by season: 2015-16: 8 2016-17: 5

-Opponent: total - 9 by season: 2015-16: 8 2016-17: 1

NWHL: -Pride: total - 4 -Riveters: total - 3

largest amount of goals scored by a single team: 6 (Kings x3, Stars x1) number of shutouts: 9 (includes all leagues: Kings x4, Sharks x1, Penguins x1, Blue Jackets x1, Condors x1, Reign x1)

Wins vs. Losses:

NHL: Kings: 26 Opponent: 20 by season: 2012-13: 5-1 2013-14: 5-4 2014-15: 5-3 2015-16: 7-5 2016-17: 4-7**

**does not include CBJ @ ANA

AHL: Reign: 4 Opponent: 2 by season: 2015-16: 2-2 2016-17: 2-0

NWHL: Pride: 1 Opponent: 0

there’s probably a hell of a lot more info number-wise i could put on here, like which individuals we’ve seen score the most for and against each team, etc., but honestly idk if i have the patience to figure that out, lmao. also i’m sure there’s plenty of games we’ve been to where so-and-so or what’s-his-face got a milestone goal/point/game career total but again, can’t be bothered to go back and look it up. for those who may want more info tho, here’s a post i made a while ago that i update regularly w/ all the games i’ve been to w/ a final score and the goal-scorers.

for real tho like. i don’t wanna get all sappy and shit and suddenly turn this post all emotional (just watch me do so anyway) but i honestly cannot express how much this sport means to me. like insert tragic backstory(tm) here and how hockey was what saved me and all that jazz but shit like. i mean yeah this shit’s got it’s ups and downs but at least whenever i get frustrating about personal stuff, i can distract myself w/ a game. or if the game’s pissing me off, at least i’m not focusing on all the shit going on in my personal life. b/c before i started watching, i really.. didn’t have much, kinda?? 

basically i went through a major bought of depression throughout 2012 which sorta peaked in early 2013 w/ stuff i’d rather not discuss here, but if my dad hadn’t taken me to that game 5 years ago, i honestly don’t know if i’d still be around today. i felt like i’d lost a lot. nothing interested me anymore. my favorite band at the time broke up when i felt like i’d already hit rock bottom. i had like no outlet for what little strong emotion i did feel at the time b/c otherwise i just felt empty. but when Justin Williams scored that goal a minute and twenty nine freaking seconds into that game, i knew that was it. that’s what sealed the deal for me. 

i had zero idea what to expect, even w/ my dad giving me a basic rundown of the roster and some basic rules about the game. like we watched the wild warm up (b/c that’s where our seats were) and my dad kept pointing out Zach Parise to me damn-near every time he skated past us b/c he’s a former UND alumni, as is like half my family on my dad’s side, but after a while it was like “okay dad, i get it. Zach Parise. UND. pretty cool,” lmao. and then the game starts and it was so quiet. like i’ve been to like a million high school football games, a good number of pro baseball games, and one pro basketball game, but all of them were.. well a hell of a lot louder, for one. like people were watching the game, but at the same time they weren’t. people in and out of their seats all the time, tons of idle chit-chat, etc. but when that first puck dropped, people sat down and shut up. they watched, like. really watched. and when Williams scored, the utter elation of the entire building (save the wild fans of course), the horn, the “hey hey hey!” chant complete w/ fist-pumping--it was just. i honestly can’t even describe it properly. but what i can say was that it was the first time in a looong time i felt genuinely happy. 

and here i am exactly 5 years later. going back to Staples for my 47th Kings game. and i like to think i’ve seen some pretty wild shit in these past five years. league rule changes that ultimately changed the entire ASG format, amazing players both leaving and joining the league (i.e. Teemu Selanne, Auston Matthews), the 2014 Olympics, a few All-Star games, and a World Cup, the first paid pro women’s league and the U.S. women’s team fight for equitable wages, the first transgender athlete to play pro hockey (i.e. the amazing and inspirational Harrison Browne), a freaking expansion team in Vegas. 

and speaking of Vegas, i went to the first ever hockey games held in the new arena, and while it wasn’t the result we wanted, at least i got to spent two nights in a row in the coolest new arena in town, plus i got to see 3 native players on the ice in one game on the second night vs. the Avalanche, which is probably more than any other team/match-up in this league could boast. and i could not have been more proud.

i was there for Andy Andreoff’s NHL debut where he got into a fight w/ Matt Hendricks in his first shift on the ice. 

i accidentally met Matt Greene’s parents b/c his mom happened to notice my dad was wearing his jersey and asked for a picture. 

i ran into Bob Miller outside Staples and he let me see his 2014 Stanley Cup Championship ring, the same night they raised the banner. 

the first time i saw my next favorite team, the Avalanche, was three years ago on the 2-year anniversary of my first Kings game, and i took @gofredthefish​ along for the ride. 

i stood and cheered and cried for Mike Richards and Justin Williams on their return to LA after both had signed w/ the Capitals. 

i was there to see Jonathan Quick’s epic scorpion kick save against Winnipeg three seasons ago (the night before we drove down to San Deigo so i could catch an Of Mice & Men concern, then drive back to LA the following day so i could catch a flight to Bismarck, ND to visit family for senior year spring break).

i jokingly put a “native curse” San Jose’s bench before warmups back in 2014 during the first round of the playoffs, the night the Kings started their reverse sweep (as well as it being Tyler Toffoli’s 22nd birthday).

the first shootout i ever saw went to the Blues, courtesy of Troy Brouwer’s goal in the 7th round.

sent our 2014 Olympians off on a high note w/ a 2-1 overtime win against the Blue Jackets where Robyn Regehr scored the gwg from right in front of where i was sitting.

went to my first game in Honda Center and the Ducks were gloriously shut out. (i was also one of maybe ten Blue Jackets fans in the entire building.)

saw Dwight King score on Marty Brodeur from the blue line, Alec Martinez score on the Avs twice on the same play, Milan Lucic’s first game in Staples Center as a King, got a video of the signature Nick Foligno/Sergei Bobrovsky Hug(tm)--twice, since they shut out the Ducks that one time, saw the home team get a 3-0 shutout in both my first NHL and AHL games, was there for the Luc Robitaille statue unveiling outside Staples, and stood less than 10 feet away from Cam Atkinson outside Staples before the 2017 ASG. 

i went to a Reign game where they knocked the San Diego Gulls out of the playoffs just a couple of weeks after i was released from the hospital after falling into a diabetic-induced coma (also i had a cold but i’ll be damned if i wasn’t gonna persevere).

i went to two separate You Can Play-sponsored LGBT+ Pride Nights for both the NHL and NWHL--and speaking of which, that particular NWHL Pride Night was my first ever women’s hockey game ever. and Boston kept their “undefeated since last january” record alive and well.

and the one moment that still makes me cry every time i think about it was when i saw Matt Duchene score his first goal of the season in 2015-16 in what would eventually be his first 30-goal season. i was sat in the second row right in front of where he threw himself into the glass in celebration, so i like to think we kinda celly’d together.

but best of all, i got to meet @hockeyacegrace earlier this season on Native American Heritage Night, and took @kylorenedict to the Kings’ opening night against the Flyers to kick off the 50-year anniversary of the First Expansion. and not to mention the many other wonderful friends i’ve made in this fandom, who also include (but are not limited to) @brandoncarlo, @jodrouin27, @sadchihuahua, @elzaechelon, @marianyossa, and @dominic-turgeon​. 

basically just. here’s to 5 gods damned years of selling my soul to this hell on ice. and gods damn it, here’s to 5 more.